Pakistan Super League franchise Quetta Gladiators’ pace spearhead Anwar Ali has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be able to fly to Abu Dhabi for the T20 league, which will resume in June after being suspended earlier after seven positive cases had come to light.
Anwar Ali will now be placed under isolation in a hotel room in Karachi for at least 10 days, reports ESPNCricinfo. The fast bowler had returned a negative test on Monday prior to his check-in into the hotel but was diagnosed positive in the subsequent test on Tuesday.
As per the schedule prepared by the board, the players and support staff of all six franchises will depart for Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, where they will undergo a mandatory quarantine in their hotel rooms for seven days and then enter the bio-secure bubble.
The report also claimed that Anwar’s fellow speedster Naseem Shah was released from isolation on Monday after he flouted the safety protocol for departure from Pakistan to Abu Dhabi by arriving at the designated hotel with a non-compliant RT-PCR test result.
The teenage sensation had later expressed his regret on Twitter, saying, "I cannot express in words how I feel right now. I want to play cricket as it [playing cricket] is my life."
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